Ek Katha

It was a dark wet evening in November. He had been waiting at the bus-stop for the better half of an hour, getting irritated by the minute. He had spent an extra hour clearing up the mess his boss had created. He cursed some, but quietened down, as the bus pulled up.

The driver greeted him with a wide smile and tried to indulge him in some small talk while he rummaged for some change. He took some time to find the last 1-dollar bill that he needed to complete the fare. Just as he was about to feed all of it in the machine, the driver said, "You don't need to buy a ticket, just give me the money."

It took him a moment to understand the driver's intentions. He blew his top.He launched into a tirade about ethics. He reiterated the fact that this was honestly earned money, and that it was immoral people like the driver that led to all of the problems in the society. He ranted about how he has to bear with all of this and more at his office, and took a seat still muttering. The driver gave a weak smile through all of it, but said nothing in his defense.

The driver's daughter had to make-do with a slice of bread that night.

-KN


PS: "Ek Katha" means "A story"
PPS: This story is a figment of my imagination, though I am pretty sure this will definitely have occurred in some form somewhere. It's an attempt to look at a socially frowned-upon action a different light.